Family
by Bunnie24
Summary: Sequel to "Baby", after the now 15-year old Harper is kidnapped, Steve and Claudia must search for their daughter while confronting the conflicts that have arisen since Claudia has become caretaker of Warehouse 13.
1. Frustration

The silence in the car was thick of tension and negative feelings as Steve drove Harper home from school.

She had a look of murder on her face as Harper looked out the window while Steve just tried to remain calm until all hell broke loose back at the bed and breakfast.

Steve knew that Harpers' anger was directed at him, but he had been there that morning trying to subdue the argument between her and Claudia before school and it didn't end well, causing an imbalance within the family.

He pulled up to the bed and breakfast, Harper jumped out of the Prius and stormed towards the house while Steve was just getting out of the car.

Steve shut his car door and watched Harper "3…2…1." He said, just on cue as she slammed the front door and made her way into her bedroom.

The warehouse agent sighed as he walked up to the porch and into the house where he could already hear Myka and Pete trying to comfort their 'niece' through the door.

"I made cookies. Chocolate chip, your favorite!" Pete remarked as Steve climbed up the stairs.

Myka and Pete looked over to see Steve quietly shooing them away, leaving him alone with Harper to finally confront what had happened that morning.

Harper was technically 15 at this point, he remembered being 15; full of hormones, angry and frustrated with a hint of hopelessness, but he hadn't been a 15-year old girl which made things a bit complicated all things considered.

Steve opened her bedroom door "Harper," he said.

"Leave me _alone!_" Harper hissed as she laid in bed.

"Harper, seriously." Steve remarked as he closed the bedroom door and looked at Harper who was looking away from him.

Steve huffed "You're going to pout about this?"

Harper looked at him, frustrated and angry with tears threatening to spill from her eyes "It's not fair!"

"Well nobody said it was going to be, Harp! You're not the only one who has to deal with this." Steve responded.

Harper rolled her eyes "Well it seems like I am. She's not _your_ mother! She's not even your wife…or your girlfriend. She's just your friend!" she hissed.

"That is unnecessary, and below the belt!" Steve interjected.

Harper stood up from her bed "Well, oh well! If someone had told me that this was what my life was going to be, I would have neutralized myself."

"You don't mean that." Steve said.

"But I do! Dad, this all sucks. I don't really have a family, I'm just the runt of a very unusual liter." Harper remarked.

Steve sighed as he sat down on her bed, forcing Harper to sit next to him as he held her close "Harp, this isn't what I wanted either; but it's what we got. Do you think it's easy for me? She's my best friend, and I miss her as much as you do; but I make due." He told her.

"But it's not like your mom is dead, she's just the caretaker. I mean, it was her destiny; it was destined for her long before you ever came along. And believe it or not, when you were little, it was always in the back of her mind about when that day came." Steve remarked.

Harper swallowed hard "I just…I miss her so much, and it hurts. But even when she's with us she's not actually _with_ us. And it makes me so mad because I just want us to be a family unit again." She told him.

Steve hugged her close "I know, sweetie. But she's always going to be your mom, just like she'll always be my baby mama." He remarked, getting a chuckle out of Harper.

He finally pulled away from his daughter "And someday, maybe, if you ever become caretaker, you'll understand. But right now, be you…be the 12-year old you." He said.

"I'm 15."

"No, you're 12."

"I'm 15."

"No…seriously, you're 12."

"Really, cause the state of South Dakota says I'm 15."

Steve huffed "Okay, fine, you're 15." He said, giving his daughter another tight squeeze.

"But, Uncle Pete made chocolate chip cookies, so I'm gonna go have a cookie." Steve said, getting up off the bed.

Steve looked at Harper, she looked more like her mother every day but with these bright blue eyes, his blue eyes to be exact.

"I love you." He remarked.

Harper smiled "I love you too." She said.

* * *

Steve left her bedroom and walked downstairs where the entire first floor began to smell of chocolate chip cookies "There still better be some for me." He remarked as he walked into the kitchen.

He walked in to see Myka and Pete sitting at the dinner table with a small plate piled high with cookies, Pete had one cookie in each hand as he already had one in his mouth.

They both turned to see Steve, Pete and Myka looked at each other before Pete extended one of his arms towards Steve "Cookie?" he muffled out.

Steve sighed as he grabbed the cookie and took a bite before sitting down next to Pete "So, how'd it go with Harper?" Myka asked.

"She misses her mom." Steve remarked, taking another bite of the cookie.

Myka pouted "Poor baby. Has she thought about maybe talking to Claudia about it, rather than fighting with her?"

Pete shook his head "Myka, come on! She's a teenager, teenagers don't show vulnerability! Teenage girls talk about make-up, and clothes…and kiss boys."

Steve was alerted by the last bit as he sat straight up, breaking what was left of his cookie on the table "Kiss boys…" he muttered to himself.

Pete and Myka panicked as they looked at each other before shaking their head and laughing at that thought "…but Harper, she doesn't kiss boys! She's always at the Warehouse…dusting the artifacts." Pete retracted.

Steve sighed "…she's growing up, that's the problem. Claudia is so caught up in being the caretaker that she's forgetting that Harper is growing up." He said.

"Oh, am I?" they heard behind them.

The three agents jumped, Pete getting out of his seat and turning around to see Claudia behind them; in a suit jacket and a skirt with her red head pulled back.

"What the—how many times have I told you not to do that? My heart is not what it used to be, Claude!" Pete remarked before sitting back down at his seat.

Claudia smirked as she walked towards the three agents "Well, I'm sorry." She said, patting his shoulder.

"So what's going on here at the gossip circle?" Claudia asked.

"Well, Harpers' _not_ kissing boys, she misses her mom, and you are missing her growing up." Pete remarked as he put another cookie in his mouth.

Claudia grimaced "Lovely."

"I say it because I care." Pete remarked with his goofy smile.


	2. Coffee

"So you talked to Harper then?" Claudia asked Steve, lacing her fingers together.

Steve nodded as her took another cookie "Yes. But you need to confront her about the argument. It was your fight, not mine." He said, splitting the cookie in two and taking a bite.

Claudia huffed, sitting back in her chair "I don't want to 'confront' her." She remarked in her typical Claudia attitude.

"Hey, you know the drill; play with matches, you get burned." Steve said, finishing off his next cookie.

Pete sighed "Besides, you really think Steve can fix this? Everybody knows that Harper is a daddy's girl. You remember when he tried to punish her for torching the bronzer, but instead he bought her a laptop?" he remarked.

Claudia eyeballed Steve "Still haven't forgiven you for that." She remarked.

"I regret nothing." Steve responded, sitting back in his chair as well.

Claudia sighed, opening her mouth to say something until the four adults heard footsteps stomping down the stairs quickly.

"Harper?" Steve called out, getting out of his seat and walking into the living room.

Harper was putting her jacket on and readjusting her bag "Harper, where are you going?" he asked.

"Lily's having Derek drama, so Sarah and I are going to meet her at The Dud." She said, adjusting her jacket one last time.

Steve shook his head "Honey, we're going to start dinner soon."

"I'll be back before then, promise. I love you." Harper remarked before leaving the bed and breakfast.

Pete pointed at Steve as he looked at Claudia "Daddy's Girl!" he announced.

* * *

Harper rode her bike through downtown Univille, enjoying the falling leaves and the happy people walking around everywhere; she loved coming into downtown, she just wished she could come more with her parents.

Most 15-year olds would be embarrassed to be seen with their parents, but Harper didn't care; she guessed that being literally born and raised in the warehouse made her appreciate her parents, for the most part.

Harper stopped her bike by the local coffee shop, The Dud.

She and her friends always hung out around here, she didn't like it very much but since she wasn't allowed in the places she wanted to hang out, The Dud was just going to do.

Harper walked in to find her friends Lily and Sarah already at a table, Lily was throwing her arms around as she explained to Sarah what had gone on today to cause the 'drama'.

"There you are!" Lily remarked as Harper approached the table.

Harper sighed as she pulled back a chair "Okay, so what happened this time?" she asked.

The teenager listened as her friend went on and on with the trivial discussion, Harper pretended to be interested but in all honesty at least once a week she was forced to endure her friends' drama; it was all unnecessary if she was completely honest.

It had seemed like 30 minutes before Lily had finally stopped talking, and Harper believed that at some point she had zoned out before she realized there was silence staring her in the eye.

"Harper? You okay?" Lily asked as both she and Sarah stared at her.

Harper smiled "Yeah, I'm great." she responded.

"Do you want some coffee?" Sarah asked.

Harper shook her head "No, I'm great. I just need to head home soon."

Sarah hummed "Have you talked to your mom since this morning?" she asked.

"No! Quite frankly, I never want to talk to her again, or see her for that matter." Harper said.

The three teenagers were silent as Harper played with a napkin that was on the table "I hate her." She mumbled, trying to force back tears.

Lily placed a hand on her friends should "It's okay." She said, trying to comfort Harper.

Harper shrugged, taking the napkin and dabbing her eyes with it to dry the forming tears when another hand touched her.

"Harper!" a rugged man said.

The three teenagers turned and looked up at the tall, blonde man "Um, I'm sorry?" Harper remarked.

The man chuckled "Oh, it's been a very long time; I'm a friend of your parents." He said.

Harper turned to her friends before looking back at the man "I'm sorry, but my parents don't really have any friends."

"Sure they do!" he said with a chuckle.

Harper looked at her friends, silently trying to ask for assistance before Sarah cleared her throat "Hey, well we better get going." She remarked, getting up from her chair.

Lily and Harper both agreed as they got up from their seats, grabbing their jackets and bags and getting ready to head out together.

"It was so nice to see you again, Harper. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon." He said, watching the three teenagers leave the coffee shop.

Harper looked over her shoulder before leaving the building, something wasn't right about the man in the coffee shop; she didn't know what it was but her gut was screaming at her to run for her life.

"Lily, can you give me a ride home?" Harper whispered to her friend.

Lily nodded "Yeah, we'll put your bike in the backseat." She remarked, walking with Harper to her bike then escorting her to her car.

* * *

"That guy was so creepy." Lily said, driving along the road.

Harper nodded "Yeah, super creepy."

Lily hummed "Hey, text Sarah and see if she got home alright." She requested.

Harper smirked as she pulled her cell phone out of her bag and began to search her contact list for Sarah when Lilys' car abruptly stopped.

"Lily! What the hell?" she remarked, turning to her friend who was staring straight ahead in pure fear.

Harper looked in front of her to see a black windowless van with the blonde man from earlier exiting it with two henchmen behind him.

"Lily, drive!" Harper instructed.

"I don't want to hit them!" Lily said.

Harper screamed as one of the henchmen opened her passenger door "I DON'T THINK THAT IS A MATTER FOR CONCERN!" she yelled as a henchman tried to pull her out of the car.

Lily grabbed Harpers' hand, attempting to pull her back into the car when the other henchman came to Lilys' door and began slashing the tires of her car.

Harper tried to fight off the henchman while continuing to hold Lilys' hand when the henchmen gave a good tug of Harper, forcing her to let go of Lilys' hand.

"NO!" Lily screamed as she watched helplessly while the henchmen threw Harper into the van then drove off, leaving Lily alone with her car.

Lily began to drive again but her slashed tired didn't get her very far as she finally stopped her car.

"Harper!" she cried out, watching the van disappear from her sight.


	3. Kidnapped

Steve had called Harper at least 5 times but she wasn't picking up her phone, Steve finally quit calling and put his phone down on the dinner table.

"Something's not right, she always picks up." Steve muttered as he turned to Pete.

Pete nodded "Yeah, I'm getting a vibe." He said, slowly standing up from his chair.

There was silence in the kitchen before Steve huffed "I'm gonna go check on her." He said, grabbing his cell phone and grabbing his car keys as he walked to the front door.

"I'm coming with you." Claudia announced as she walked with him to the front door; Steve opened the door, ready to walk out with Claudia when they saw a police officer standing in front of them.

"Is this the residence of Harper Jinks?" the officer asked.

Claudia held onto Steve tightly as they both nodded "Yes, this is the Jinks residence."

"Are you her parents?" the office asked.

They both nodded again "Could you tell us what's going on?" Steve asked.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jinks, I'm afraid I have some bad news, may I come in?" The office asked.

Claudia huffed "No, you tell us right here."

The office looked at Claudia "Ma'am, I'm sorry to tell you this, but your daughter was kidnapped about two hours ago." He told her.

Claudia covered her mouth while Steve held her close "Do you have any leads?" he asked.

"May I come in?" the office asked.

Steve opened the door wide enough to let the office in, he escorted the officer and the now distraught Claudia to the living room where they were met by Myka and Pete.

"What's going on?" Pete asked.

"Call Artie, tell him we have an emergency." Steve instructed as the three of them sat down in the living room.

The officer cleared her throat "The report goes as follows; your daughter and her friends were at the coffee shop, The Dud, and the two friends had said that a man had approached them and began talking to Harper; the man was tall with blonde hair and blue eyes. The girls left and Harper got her friend Lily to give her a ride home; but on the way home the man from earlier had followed them and cut them off. Her friend said that two henchmen came out of a black van with the blonde gentleman, and that one retrieved Harper while the other slashed the cars tires." The office explained.

Claudia remained in shock, trying to force back tears "Do you have any suspects?" she asked.

"No, not at this time. Though, both friends remember the gentleman saying that he was a friend of yours." The office remarked.

Claudia and Steve looked at each other before shaking their head "No. Nobody by that description." Steve remarked.

The officer nodded "Do you have a recent picture of Harper?" he asked.

Claudia thought for a moment "I think I can find one of her photo booth pictures." She said, getting up from her seat and rushing upstairs to try and find the picture.

Steve sat silently in his seat, trying to absorb everything when Myka cleared her throat "Uh, Steve?" she asked, stepping out gently from the dining room.

Steve turned to Myka, who motioned her head to come closer, he excused himself for the moment and walked into the kitchen with Myka.

Myka handed Steve her cell phone and took a few steps back, standing next to Pete near the stove as they waited silently.

"Hello?"

"Steve, what happened with Harper?" Artie asked on the other end of the phone.

Steve cleared his throat "She's—she's been kidnapped." He said.

Myka covered her mouth while Pete stood in pure shock, they knew something was wrong but they weren't sure what it was until that moment.

"Oh, well that explains a lot." Artie remarked.

"What, Artie?"

Artie huffed "The Warehouse, artifacts have been flying off the shelves, and lightening hitting in random places. If Harper is putting up a fight or is extremely angry, which is probably correct to assume, her emotions and energy are being shared with the warehouse."

Steve sighed "…so she's still alive at least." He muttered.

"Yes—" Artie said before abruptly stopping.

Steve listened closely for a moment "Artie?"

"…it stopped."

Steves' stomach dropped, gently sitting down in the closest chair as tears began to spill from his eyes; it was then at that moment Steve began to feel his cell phone vibrating in his pocket.

"Artie, I've got to go." He said, hanging up Mykas' phone and pulled his out and looked to see who was calling; it was Harper.

He didn't waste any time answering the call "Harper, are you okay?" he nearly yelled, jumping up from his seat.

Steve only heard muffle cries on the other end of the phone "Harper?" he whispered.

"Dad." Harper simply.

Steve tried to hold back tears just as the office and Claudia walked into the kitchen "…Harper, sweetie, are you alright?" he asked.

Harper began to breathe shallowly for a moment "Yeah."

"What does he want?" Steve asked.

Harper hummed for a moment "He won't tell me." She muttered.

Steve nodded as he swallowed hard "I'm gonna find you. We're going to find you, okay?"

Harper was silent, Steve could hear another voice mutter something to her; Harper swallowed hard "He said you'll see me real soon."

"Who is he?" Steve muttered.

Harper began to cry again for a moment before she tried to contain herself "Walter Sykes."

Steve sighed "Honey, Walter Sykes is dead." He told his daughter calmly.

"That's what I told him" Harper said, trying to hold back tears.

Steve heard a struggle forming, he heard Harper crying out as the phone was taken away from her.

"…who is this?" Steve asked sternly.

The other voice chuckled for a moment "Oh, Steve…it has been awhile." He said in a calm and collect voice.

Steve couldn't deny that the voice sounded familiar, but he knew that Walter Sykes was dead; whoever had kidnapped Harper must've had an artifact to mask their true identity.

"Give me back my daughter." Steve hissed.

The man chuckled "…I'll give her back, eventually. But I need to borrow her. Don't try and find her, I won't hesitate to kill her—or you again, for that matter." He said before handing up the phone.

Steve took the phone away from his ear gently and turned to Claudia, he shrugged before shaking his head at her.

Claudia covered her mouth as she began to sob; to the office present, Claudia was just a scared and grieving mother, but to the agents and Steve, they were witnessing the caretaker call apart at the seams.


	4. The Bull Horn

The agents sat in the living room silently, trying to figure out what to do; they all agreed that there was no way it could actually be Walter Sykes, half of them has witness his death.

Claudia sighed, slowly getting up from the couch "Okay, here's what we're going to do." She said, adjusting her suit. "We are going to split up. Pete, Myka, you are going to take over the investigation from the police and figure out everything they know. Tell them that the case is now in Federal custody. Steve and I are going to the Warehouse and see Artie." She said gently.

Pete and Myka nodded as they got up from the couch and left the two younger agents alone; Steve stood up and took Claudias' hand in his as he placed his forehead against hers.

"Steve, if my last words to my daughter are 'so help me god, I hope one day you can feel all the pain I've felt', I don't know what I'm going to do with myself." She confessed to Steve.

Steve sighed as he shook his head "Those won't be your last words to her, I promise." He said, trying to comfort his best friend.

* * *

"Every now and then a bolt of lightning hits, or an artifact falls off…but other than that it's been quiet." Artie told the two agents.

Steve and Claudia were silent, thinking to themselves before Claudia hummed "What if it actually is Walter Sykes?" she asked out loud.

"Claudia, he's dead." Steve said.

Claudia nodded "Yeah, well, this is the Warehouse and stranger things have happened." She remarked.

"…I wonder if she could hear us." Steve remarked.

Artie and Claudia turned to him slowly, thinking he was crazy as he sighed "I mean, her energy is connecting to the Warehouse…maybe we could use an artifact or something to try and communicate with her." He suggested.

Claudia and Artie looked at each other "It's worth a shot." Claudia suggested.

Steve nodded "Okay, I'm going to start with something simple." He said before walking out into the balcony and began screaming out Harpers' name.

Claudia sighed "Oh, Jinksy." She muttered.

Artie turned to Claudia "He's taking it worse than you."

"No, I just—I can't show any more emotion, I am the Caretaker after all." Claudia remarked.

Artie wrapped an arm around Claudia "She's your daughter, and you have every right to be angry, or sad, or scared…just don't lose yourself." He told her.

Claudia nodded, smiling at Artie "Okay. Well, I'm gonna go stop Steve before he loses his voice."

She walked out into the balcony and put a hand on Steves' shoulder "Lets try something else." She suggested.

"What exactly do you have in mind? I mean, what could be strong enough to reach Harper?" Steve asked her.

Claudia smirked as she motioned for Steve to follow her "I think I know of an artifact that could help us out." She said, climbing down the stairs.

It was the biggest bull horn Steve had ever laid eyes on "…uh...I don't remember seeing this in the Warehouse." Steve remarked.

Claudia smirked "Don't ask, don't tell." She said positioning the bull horn against the railing of the balcony; she took a deep breathe "Please, work." She asked silently before putting her lips to the mic end and yelled Harpers' name through the bull horn.

The sound echoed for a moment, before the artifacts fell forward; leaving both Steve and Claudia in shock.

"You think she heard?" Steve asked.

Claudia nodded gently "Yeah." She muttered.

* * *

She was tied down to the chair, what little make-up she had on was now smeared along her face; Harper didn't want to admit that she was scared, but with the circumstances she figured she could make an exception.

"_Harper!_" she heard off in the distance, she turned quickly behind her to find nothing; she couldn't help but think that the voice she had heard was her mothers.

Her stomach dropped, what could possess a person to kidnap her? She was a rather mild-mannered kid, she kept to herself, and nobody knew what her parents did. How did this guy know who she was? Hell, how'd he know mom and dad?

"What do you want with me?" Harper asked the man, speaking to his henchmen.

The man turned "It's a surprise." He told her, grabbing a handkerchief from his suit pocket and walking towards Harper before kneeling.

"You shouldn't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you." He said, wiping her face down, removing her make-up and tears.

"Then why did you tell my dad you would?" she asked.

The man shrugged "To scare him." He remarked.

"Are you really Walter Sykes?" she muttered.

He folded his handkerchief and put it back in his suit pocket "Yes." He simply said before getting up and walking away, leaving Harper alone in her corner once again.

Harper sighed heavily, trying to keep herself intact; she wondered what Pete and Myka were doing, she wondered how scared Steve was now that she was missing, and she mostly wondered if Claudia gave a damn at all.

The teenager adjusted in the wood chair, it was mostly uncomfortable and she was beginning to lose sensation in her back and butt; she began to squirm, trying to find a good spot when she tilted the chair too far and hit the cold, hard ground.

* * *

The shelves fell down abruptly, it had been at least 5 minutes since they had screamed into the bull horn, Claudia and Steve looked at each other and Artie looked out into the warehouse.

"Must've been an aftershock type thing." Artie suggested.

Steve shook his head "No, it was Harper. The shelves fell towards us, not against us…" he said.

Claudia nodded "Yeah, if it was aftershock they would have fallen back, not forward." She interjected.

Artie sighed "…I hope she heard you." He muttered.

Claudia hugged herself "I hope she did too."


	5. Rouge

She was bored out of her mind as she remained in the chair, this was pretty much torture for the 12/15-year old girl.

One of the henchmen walked by, she hoped to get his attention with a 'hey', but he blatantly ignored her.

Harper huffed "I have to go to the bathroom!" she announced, hoping one of the henchmen would actually listen to her.

It didn't take long before she heard footsteps coming towards her, she held her breathe for a moment to make sure that the footsteps were actually coming towards her until a henchman finally showed up.

"You called?" he asked rhetorically and unamused.

Harper nodded "I have to pee." She said bluntly, staring the henchman in the eyes.

He huffed before walking up to her, untying her from her seat and nearly dragging her to the bathroom; the henchmen stood behind her, making her feel awkward as she looked at him.

"A little privacy?" she suggested, shooing him away.

The henchman stared her down for a moment before he sighed, exiting the bathroom "Don't try anything funny." He muttered before closing the door.

Harper sighed, not able to really feel her legs after being stuck in that chair for what felt like forever; she looked around the tiny bathroom to see a small window above the sink, near the ceiling.

She did the math herself, how could she squeeze through and run for her life; she thought about how long it would take her.

Harper looked back at the door before beginning her climb to the window, gently climbing on top of the sink and reaching up high to unlock the window.

_"Please don't fall."_ She begged herself as she pushed the window door open and grabbed the open wall.

She pulled herself up, kicking her legs against the wall to give herself some support before she finally began to climb through the tiny window.

At that moment, she was thankful that she was built like her mother; Harper fell out of the window and onto the hard dirt.

Harper didn't waste any time picking herself up and running away from the building, but she was beginning to see a fence blocking her from pure freedom.

She wined as she made it to the fence "I wasn't built for this." She murmured to herself before beginning to climb the fence.

"THERE SHE IS!" she heard behind her, but she didn't bother looking behind her; she kept climbing until she was over the fence.

Her shirt caught on the fence but Harper didn't care as she pulled on her shirt and began to run through the woods.

Harper ran for her life, she smiled to herself; maybe she had a chance, maybe she was going to get away.

But she thought too soon as someone scooped her up in their arms "Did you think it was going to be that easy?" Walter Sykes asked her.

"In all honesty, yes. I did." Harper spat with an attitude.

* * *

"Okay, this is all we got from the cops." Pete said, spreading everything out in the warehouse.

Pete cleared his throat "We got the security footage from inside and outside the coffee shop and the man likes exactly like Walter Sykes…except not in a wheelchair anymore." He remarked.

Myka nodded "We talked to a couple of the staff, and they said that the girls were regulars, naturally, and that they didn't waste any time trying to get away from Sykes." She spoke gently.

Steve huffed "Are we going ahead and saying that Walter Sykes kidnapped my daughter?" he snared.

Myka and Pete began to feel nervous as they turned to Claudia who put a hand on his shoulder and leaned towards him "Hey, relax, Steve." She spoke gently.

Steve shook his head "No! No! I'm sorry, I can't do this!" he remarked, walking out of the office and out of the warehouse.

They stood silently for a moment before Claudia sighed "Steve!" she called out, following him out of the warehouse.

"Steve! Hold on!" she called out, following him out to his car.

Steve huffed as he turned around to Claudia "We're not going to find her just standing around, Claude!" he yelled out.

Claudia sighed "We just have to pace ourselves—and you heard what he said, to not try and find her." She remarked.

"CLAUDIA—stop! She's my daughter-"

"OUR daughter, Steve!" Claudia interjected.

Steve shook her away "…she's my daughter. She's all I got. And every time a bolt of lightening hits, or another artifact falls, I can't help but wonder if she's scared, or angry, or sad. I wonder if they've hurt her. I wonder if she still believes that I'm coming for her." He remarked.

Claudia choked up, she knew he had a point; she was feeling the same way but was holding herself together to find her with the team.

Steve was letting his anger take over "I would die a thousand times for her, and I would kill for her. I don't want to find my daughter dead; I don't want to have to pull the metronome out because I couldn't get to her in time." He said before getting in his car.

"Steve!" Claudia cried out, letting a single tear fall onto her cheek; but he didn't respond, he drove away.

Claudia feared the worse as he drove away from the warehouse, he had gone rouge.

* * *

Claudia walked back into the warehouse, wiping away tears as she looked at Myka, Pete, and now Artie who were waiting to hear what happened.

"…he's lost his mind." She muttered, beginning to hug herself.

Claudia tried hard to stop tears from forming again as she shook her head "I don't know what I'm going to do." She said.

Pete and Myka walked up to Claudia and held her close "It's okay." Myka assured her.

Claudia shook her head "No. Steve's gone rouge. I've never seen him so angry before." She admitted.

Pete and Myka looked at each other "We're going to find them. Both of them." Pete promised, letting his hug become a little tighter.


	6. Feelings

Steve huffed as he continued to drive before he finally pulled off to the side of the road and put the car in park, becoming consumed with so many emotions at once he wasn't sure what to do.

"_Count to ten._" Steve told himself, breathing in and out as he counted to ten and finally let his anger subside.

His eyes began to water up, he was so scared and worried for Harper that he honestly couldn't function; he wondered why Sykes took her, he still wondered if it he really was Sykes.

Steve wiped away a forming tear, letting random memories enter his mind; one memory in particular was Harpers' first day of school.

* * *

_It was weird, Claudia was the one who couldn't wait to get Harper sent off to school but as the three of them walked into the crowded hallways Claudia was getting jittery._

_ "Maybe we could homeschool her?" she bargained with Steve, who simply smiled before turning to her._

_ "Claude, relax. She's going to be fine." He said before kneeling down to Harpers' pint size and smiled at her._

_ Steve adjusted her backpack and sweater, then pushed some hair away from her face "Alright. You ready?" he asked her._

_ Harper nodded "Yeah, daddy." She said with a smile._

_ "You remember what we talked about?" Steve asked her._

_ "No biting." _

_ "Yes, no biting. What else?" Steve asked._

_ Harper sighed "You and mommy and secret service agents, don't talk about the warehouse, and just because you might not be picking me up after school doesn't mean you don't love me." She said._

_ Steve smiled "Yeah, baby. That's right." He said, adjusting her sweater one more time before pulling her in for a hug._

_ "I love you." Steve whispered to her._

_ "I love you too, daddy." Harper said, not wanting to let go of her dad before Steve finally pulled away, letting Claudia get a hug in._

_ Claudia sighed "You've got your lunch money?" _

_ "It's in my pocket." _

_ Claudia nodded "Sweater's warm enough?" _

_ "Yeah." _

_ Claudia took a deep breathe in before pulling her in for a hug "I love you, jelly bean." She said, almost smothering the 5-year old with the hug._

_ "Mommy, I can't breathe!" Harper remarked, now having Claudia let her go. _

_ Claudia stood up, giving Steve enough time to pull her away from Harper; Harper turned around to face the sea of school children in the classroom in front of her._

_ "Have a great first day, sweetie." Claudia called out as they both watched her walk into her classroom. _

* * *

Steve smiled, she was so small and full of life; she trusted the world which scared Steve, but as she grew older he knew that she had grown wiser.

He brushed away another tear, putting the car back into drive and began driving again; he was going to find Harper, he knew doing it on his own was stupid, but his urge to find her was strong.

She sat in the back with Sykes, after her attempted break out he refused to take his eyes off of her; Harper refused to make eye contact with him as she looked out the window, pretending that he wasn't next to her.

Harper played with her restraints as she pretended not to feel a pair of eyes on her; but it was becoming hard not to turn and look at Sykes.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Sykes smirked "I told you, it's a surprise." He remarked.

Harper sighed, continuing to look out the window; her hormones were getting the best of her as she huffed "Y'know, when I get out of these restraints…I'm going to kill you myself." She hissed.

"Oh, are you?" Sykes asking with a light chuckle.

"Yes." Harper remarked, moving closer to the window.

Sykes smirked to himself, now looking out the other window in the back seat of the car "I'd like to see you try." He taunted.

Harper clenched her jaw, she couldn't wait for the team to find her.

* * *

Claudia and Artie were sitting in the office while Myka and Pete were rummaging through the destroyed warehouse; they hoped that maybe they could find a sign of where Harper was through the skewed artifacts.

Claudia sighed, going through the pictures one more time "I wish there was some way to track her down." She muttered.

Artie nodded "Me too." He remarked.

"I hope she's still putting up a fight, giving them a run for their money." Claudia remarked, looking at Harper in the pictures as she sat in her seat.

Claudia sighed "Maybe we can track Steve?" she suggested.

Artie thought for a moment "We can try." He remarked as he rolled his chair towards the computer and began typing away at the keyboard.

Claudia came up behind the senior agent and watched as Artie began to track Steves' cell phone, Artie hummed to himself "It seems like he's at The Dud." He remarked.

"Oh, Jinksy." Claudia muttered "I'll see if I can catch him there." She remarked as she grabbed her jacket and walked out of the office.

* * *

The lights were dim in the coffee shop and Claudia spotted Steve in a corner area, staring at two cups of coffee.

Claudia gently walked up to Steve and waited for Steve to speak first, it was obvious there was something on his mind as he sat there.

Steve sighed "I was on auto-pilot, I ordered two cups because I usually come with Harper. But I paid for the coffee and turned around to realize that Harper wasn't behind me like she usually is." He said as he looked up at Claudia.

Claudia sat next to Steve and took his hand "We're gonna find her, Steve." She assured Steve.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you." He muttered.

Claudia smiled "Yeah, you really scared me back there." She admitted.

Steve nodded "I just want to find her, and it seems like we're just standing around."

"Well, we tried to track her phone, but whoevers' got her destroyed it. And maybe he'll call us with further instructions…or something." Claudia said.

Steve looked over at Claudia, lacing his fingers with hers as she scooted closer to him "I love you, Jinksy." She whispered to him.

"I love you too, Claude." He said.

Claudia smiled as she grabbed the other cup of coffee and began to sip on it before she gave Steve an ugly face "Dear God, what is this?" she asked before putting the cup down.

Steve chuckled "…it's a Cinnamon Spice Latte. Harpers' favorite." He said.

"Well, it's disgusting." She said, giving Steve another moment to chuckle.


	7. The Truth Hurts

The agents all reconvened at the Warehouse after Claudia came back with Steve in toe; Pete stood around as the other agents began to watch the surveillance footage from the coffee shop.

"Ok, so what if this is really Walter Sykes, what does he want with Harper?" Pete asked out loud.

The room was quiet as they looked at each other, coming up blank on an idea; Pete huffed "Oh, come on! Somebody has got to think of something." He remarked.

Steve shrugged "Revenge?" he asked as he turned to Pete.

Pete nodded "Yeah! Sure! Revenge…revenge for…killing him? For…taking away the bracelet…again." Pete said, now beginning to talk to himself.

"But why would he take Harper if he wanted revenge?" Claudia asked.

"It was convenient." Myka suggested.

"It presses buttons." Steve suggested.

"It was the perfect opportunity." Pete remarked.

Claudia shook her head as she pointed at the surveillance footage "No. He knew who she was. He walked up to her and started a conversation with her. He knew her name, he knew what she looked like, he knew that Steve and I were her parents, and he knew she'd be at that coffee shop. He'd been watching her." She remarked.

"And if he knew all of that…what else could he possibly know?" Claudia asked.

The wheels in Steves' head were turning as he looked up at Claudia "What if he knows she has a connection to the Warehouse?" he asked.

Claudia pointed to Steve "Exactly. If he knows that she has a personal connection to the warehouse, then she is his key to get in here."

Myka covered her mouth in fear as Pete clenched his jaw "That's not gonna happen. Over my dead body is he getting in her." He remarked.

"And I'm sure Harper would put up one hell of a fight." Pete continued.

"She would. But if he's standing on his own two feet she won't stand a chance." Claudia muttered, brushing away forming tears.

Myka stood up "No! We are going to make sure he can't get in. We know he's coming! We can prepare!" she remarked.

"How Myka? The warehouse is a disaster." Steve retorted.

"Hey, Mr. Poopy Pants, don't give up hope!" Claudia remarked before turning back to Myka.

Myka smiled "Just because the warehouse is a mess Jinks, doesn't mean we can't use that to our advantage." She said gently.

"I'm already there Mykes, what's the plan?" Pete asked.

Myka smirked to herself, grabbing a note pad and gathering the agents together to form the plan.

* * *

It had been a long car drive, Harper was pressing her head against the window when she saw the approaching sign 'Welcome to Univille'.

Harper pulled her head off of the window and turned to Sykes who was looking out his window, obviously thinking to himself.

"You took me out of my home town just to bring me back in?" Harper asked.

Sykes smiled as he turned to her "You'll see." He remarked gently.

Harper huffed, he was a bad guy, she knew he wouldn't tell her anything; she hoped that her parents weren't too late and maybe, just maybe, they had something in store for Sykes.

"Can I ask you a question?" Harper asked.

Sykes turned to her "Depends."

"What did you mean when you said you'd kill my dad again?" Harper asked.

The villain was taken aback as he looked at the teenager "Your parents never told you?"

Harper shook her head, waiting for Sykes to hopefully give her an answer to at least that simple question—or at least she thought it was simple.

"Long ago, before you were a twinkle in your fathers' eye, an associate of mine killed your father with a lethal injection. Your mother, that persistent little brat, brought him back from the dead later on." Sykes remarked.

Harper was shocked, her parents never told her that story; she figured something like that would have been told when she was younger, when she was 'old enough to understand'; she looked back out at the window, not wanting to push the subject any longer.

"Don't be sad, Harper. Your daddy's still here…for the moment." He said with a smirk on his face.

Harper crossed her arms "Remember what I told you, I will kill you."

Sykes turned to her and smiles "And once again…I'd like to see you try." He said before going back to his window.

* * *

The warehouse was prepped as well as it could be as the agents once again waited in the office, Artie was tapping away at the computer while Pete and Myka was having a playful conversation.

Steve and Claudia sat in silence, waiting for Sykes to appear with his men and Harper; Steve would casually turn to Claudia before she would turn to him and then he'd look away, they began doing this for several minutes.

Claudia remarked after growing tired of this game "What, Steve?" she asked.

"Nothing!" Steve remarked, standing up and began pacing around "I'm just anxious. What if we're wrong and they never show up?" he asked.

Claudia stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders "Steve, calm down. They're going to come. I promise." She assured him.

Steve sighed "You're right. It's just, I want to see my daughter, and sitting around waiting—it's not my idea of time well spent."

"Well, then maybe you can go walk through the Warehouse for a moment." Claudia suggested.

Steve looked out the door at the destroyed Warehouse "No. What if they show up while I'm out there?" he asked.

Claudia smiled "I don't know…maybe you'll figure something out." She spoke, crossing her arms.

Steve turned back at Claudia "Come with me?" he asked.

Claudia thought for a moment, looking around the office at the other agents who were trying to pass the time as well, she turned back to Steve and nodded.

"I'll go with you." She said, putting a hand back on Steves' shoulder and stroked it with her thumb.


End file.
